Alsoft DiskWarrior 4.2 (WDD105)

Product Description

DiskWarrior is a utility program designed from the ground up with a totally different approach to preventing and resolving directory damage which is the leading cause of Mac instability.

Universal Binary

Repairs invalid file permissions

Finds corrupted Preference (.plist) files

Optimizes, repairs and rebuilds FileVaults

Tests the length of path names for each item on your drive

Fully supports case-sensitive file names

Rebuilds Attribute B-trees

Repairs and rebuilds Access Control Lists (ACLs)

Uses directory data to quickly rebuild the directory structure

Eliminates risk of losing access to files

What is DiskWarrior? DiskWarrior is the safest, most technologically advanced, most powerful utility to eliminate directory damage available for any computer.

DiskWarrior uses a different approach to disk directory repair than other programs.DiskWarrior is not a disk repair program in the conventional sense. Instead of patching the original directory, it uses a patent-pending technology to quickly build a new replacement directory using data recovered from the original directory, thereby recovering files, folders and documents that you thought were lost and that no other program could recover.

How does DiskWarrior recover data no one else can?At Alsoft, we know that the most important thing when you are attempting to repair your disks is getting your data back. That's why the first thing DiskWarrior does is scavenge your original directory to find all the file data it can. It then uses this data to build an entirely new replacement directory.

DiskWarrior is the only product that finds all of your data.Its patent-pending method always results in a perfectly rebuilt directory without any errors and that contains all of your file and folder data.

Why Choose DiskWarrior?DiskWarrior is a utility program designed from the ground up with a totally different approach to preventing and resolving directory damage which is the leading cause of Mac instability.

DiskWarrior resolves existing disk damage by rebuilding your disk directory using data recovered from the original directory, thereby recovering files and folders that you thought were lost. The directories DiskWarrior creates are also optimized for maximum directory performance.

DiskWarrior is not a disk repair program in the conventional sense. It does not attempt to solve all of the possible problems that can occur with a disk. It specializes in eliminating directory errors - the most common problems Mac OS users have with their disks.

DiskWarrior rebuilds your disk directories making them error-free, eliminating any problems the errors would have caused, and recovering lost files.

Directory damage isn't the only threat to your data. A physical hardware malfunction can cause intermittent loss of access to any data on the drive. If the malfunction is serious enough, the only way to retrieve the data on the drive is through an expensive data recovery service. DiskWarrior can be configured to automatically check drives for possible drive malfunction, giving you the chance to back up your data before a drive completely fails. The hardware monitoring can also be run manually if you suspect a drive malfunction.

Alsoft has been making disk utilities for the Mac over 20 years. Our disk optimization utilities have always chosen the safety and security of your data over anything else, and have been able to detect and report directory errors no other program can (the others obviously couldn't fix the problems they couldn't even find). That knowledge has been put into DiskWarrior to give you the only tool that can eliminate all directory problems and recover lost files and folders! And, as an added bonus, the directory DiskWarrior creates is optimized for maximum speed when accessing your files!

Why Use DiskWarrior First?When other utilities attempt to repair your directory, they attempt to do so by "patching" the directory one problem at a time, ignoring the big picture of what is truly wrong with your directory and risking file information that might otherwise have been saved. This method can result in sections of the directory being patched over and deleted. Since whole sections of the directory can be deleted, this attempt at repair can cause loss of directory data and thus loss of access to your files.

Because other utilities may delete directory data in their repair attempts, you should always use DiskWarrior first when you suspect directory damage on your disk. DiskWarrior uses a patent-pending method of quickly rebuilding your directory from the data recovered in your old directory.

This method recovers files and folders that you thought were lost and that no other program can recover. Otherwise, you risk losing directory data and thus access to your files. With DiskWarrior, there is never a risk of losing directory data and thus never a risk of losing access to your files.

When Should I Use DiskWarrior?Obviously, you should run DiskWarrior when you suspect that there is directory damage on one of your disks. Directory damage can result in a disk not mounting (not appearing on the desktop when the computer is started), missing files or folders, an inability to move or copy files, or crashes when files are used.

The best use of DiskWarrior is for preventative maintenance of your disks. Many forms of directory damage do not manifest themselves until long after the damage has actually occurred.

You can prevent this damage from escalating by running DiskWarrior on your disks regularly - we suggest at least once each month. DiskWarrior will rebuild your disk directory, eliminating all existing directory damage. The directory DiskWarrior creates is also optimized for maximum directory performance, and this will speed up the performance of your disk.

What Are The Other Advantages?DiskWarrior optimizes your directory for maximum performance. Directory optimization typically results in a 50% to 60% decrease in the time it takes programs to scan the directory and a 10% to 20% decrease in startup time. Other programs may not provide the true directory optimization provided by DiskWarrior.

DiskWarrior compares your old directory with the new rebuilt directory and determines if there have been any changes to the number or contents of your files and folders. It then lists any differences it finds in the DiskWarrior Report. You'll know right away what files and folders are affected by directory damage. The report lists the problems found by file, making it easy for you to see what files and folders you need to check in the preview.

DiskWarrior's patented preview feature lets you examine the files and folders on your damaged disk as they will appear after the directory is repaired but before any changes are made to the disk. This assures you that you will get the expected results before any changes are made permanent.

When enabled, DiskWarrior's hardware monitoring capability can notify you if your drive devices are in danger of failing. This notice can give you valuable warning, allowing you the opportunity to back up your files before the drive becomes completely inaccessible. Without such a back-up, your may be left with an expensive data recovery service as the only way to get your data back.

DiskWarrior verifies your rebuilt directory to ensure that it is error free. For protection from interruptions such as power loss, DiskWarrior uses a unique fail-safe method of replacing the damaged directory with the repaired directory. With DiskWarrior, you never have to worry about the safety of your files.

If there is a system folder on your disk, DiskWarrior will ensure that it is blessed. No more flashing question mark!

DiskWarrior safely rebuilds journaled disks. It also checks System and Finder files for damage, eliminates a common cause of system crashes by checking custom icon files for corruption, and repairs the wrapper volume System files caused when HFS Plus disks are initialized under Mac OS 9.0 - 9.0.4, allowing Macs with these disks to start up.

What Other Features Are There?DiskWarrior is the only program where there is never a risk of losing directory data and thus never a risk of losing access to your files.

Note: DiskWarrior 4 version 4.1.1 is now shipping on DiskWarrior DVD revision 904. This DVD is a universal startup DVD that can start up both PowerPC and Intel Macs. All Mac models meeting the system requirements for DiskWarrior except the new 13" and 15" MacBook Pro (SD card slot) models introduced in June 2009 can be started from the DVD. Click here to learn how to repair the directory of a disk in a Mac model that cannot be started from the DiskWarrior DVD.

System Requirements:

Mac with PowerPC Processor:

• PowerPC G3, G4 or G5

• Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later

• 256MB RAM (512MB recommended)

• Latest firmware updates installed

• CD-ROM drive

Mac with Intel Processor:

• Intel Core processor

• Mac OS X v10.3.9 or later

• 256MB RAM (512MB recommended)

• Latest firmware updates installed

• CD-ROM drive

Startup Requirements DiskWarrior now ships on DVD instead of CD. Starting up from the DiskWarrior DVD requires a G4 867 MHz Mac or better (such as a G5 or Intel Mac) with DVD drive and a minimum 512 MB RAM. The computer must also have the latest firmware updates installed. Click here to learn how to repair the directory of a disk in a Mac model that cannot be started from the DiskWarrior DVD.

Installation Requirements To install, you must be started from Mac OS X 10.3.9 through 10.5 with at least 512 MB RAM. DiskWarrior 4 version 4.1 is completely compatible with Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. The older DiskWarrior 4 version 4.0 has some compatibility issues when running an installed copy of DiskWarrior under Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard (see this support database entry). Alsoft recommends that you don't run DiskWarrior 4 version 4.0 while started from Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard. Instead, you should download the free DiskWarrior 4 version 4.1 CD Update. This free updater allows you to create a new startup CD containing DiskWarrior 4 version 4.1.

Additional Requirements If you plan to rebuild the directory on your startup disk, you need to start up from another disk capable of starting up in Mac OS X 10.3.9 through 10.5, such as the DiskWarrior DVD. DiskWarrior cannot be run while started up from the Apple Mac OS X install DVD.

If you want or need to run DiskWarrior 4 version 4.1 from Mac OS X 10.4 or earlier, there are two features of DiskWarrior that are not available for a Mac OS X 10.5 startup disk. First, you cannot repair the permissions of a Mac OS X 10.5 startup disk. Second, you cannot rebuild a FileVault that was created under Mac OS X 10.5. You will be able to rebuild a FileVault that was created on a startup disk that was later upgraded to Mac OS X 10.5. Your DiskWarrior DVD may start up in Mac OS X 10.4 and would therefore have these features disabled for a Mac OS X 10.5 startup disk. See the DiskWarrior manual for additional procedures to rebuild the startup disk.

While started from the DiskWarrior DVD, you cannot repair the permissions of a Mac OS X 10.5 startup disk.

If you wish to enable DiskWarrior's automatic hardware monitoring, you will need to install the DiskWarrior application on your Mac OS computer. To install the DiskWarrior application see the install requirements above. Installing DiskWarrior is not required to run the application from the DiskWarrior DVD to rebuild a disk directory.